1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording material and ink for ink-jet recording, more specifically to an ink-jet recording material that has photo-like high glossiness, is excellent in ink-absorption property, and is improved in preservability after printing, and ink for ink-jet recording improved in preservability after printing.
2. Prior Art
As a recording material to be used for an ink-jet recording system, a recording material which comprises a porous ink-receptive layer comprising a pigment such as amorphous silica, and a water-soluble binder such as polyvinyl alcohol being provided on a support such as a usual paper or the so-called ink-jet recording sheet has generally been known.
There have been proposed recording sheets obtained by coating a silicon-containing pigment such as silica with a hydrophilic binder onto a paper support as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 51583/1980, No. 157/1981, No. 107879/1982, No. 107880/1982, No. 230787/1984, No. 160277/1987, No. 184879/1987, No. 183382/1987, No. 11877/1989, and the like.
Also, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56552/1991, Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 188287/1990, No. 81064/1998, No. 119423/1998, No. 175365/1998, No. 193776/1998, No. 203006/1998, No. 217601/1998, No. 20300/1999, No. 20306/1999 and No. 34481/1999, U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,281, and EP 0 813 978 A, and the like, there have been disclosed ink-jet recording materials using synthetic silica fine particles prepared by a gas phase process (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cfumed silicaxe2x80x9d). The fumed silica is ultrafine particles having an average particle size of a primary particle of several nm to several tens nm, and has characteristics of giving high glossiness and high ink-absorption properties.
In recent years, a photo-like recording sheet has earnestly been desired, and glossiness becomes more important. As such a recording material, there has been proposed a recording material in which an ink-receptive layer mainly comprising fumed silica is coated on a water resistant support such as a polyolefin resin-coated paper (a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene, etc. is laminated on the both surfaces of paper) or a polyester film, etc.
However, in the porous recording material using inorganic fine particles such as the fumed silica and alumina hydrate, there is a problem that the printed image after printing is likely discolored during storage due to the porous structure. That is, there involved a great problem that discoloration and changing color due to light or particularly to a small amount of a gas in air is likely caused. In addition, in the water resistant support which is different from the conventionally used paper support, the support itself does not have any ink-absorption property, so that it is necessary to ensure ink-absorption property by making a void ratio of a porous recording layer high and a coating amount large. As a result of complying with such a design, a problem of the above-mentioned discoloration of an image becomes particularly serious.
For the purpose of preventing from changing color and discoloration and improving preservability of a printed image, a number of proposals have been conventionally made. For example, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 74193/1982, No. 87988/1982 and No. 261478/1987, there are disclosed a method of using an UV absorber, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 74192/1982, No.87989/1982, No. 72785/1985, No. 146591/1986, No. 170381/1987, No. 61477/1987, No.13376/1991, No.314882/1995, No.25796/1996 and No. 267544/1997, there are disclosed a method of using an antioxidant or a discoloration preventive agent, and in Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 112964/1996 and No. 132727/1996, there are disclosed a method of using a certain kind of a polyvalent metallic salt. However, either of the methods using these compounds is insufficient in discoloration preventive effects or causes bad effects that the compound itself lowers image quality due to its coloration or change in color even when the compound has some preventive effects.
On the other hand, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 314881/1995, there is disclosed that yellow color change of a porous ink-receptive layer in contact with a polyvinyl chloride film can be prevented by adding an urea derivative, a semicarbazide derivative, a carbohydrazide derivative or a hydrazine derivative to a porous ink-receptive layer comprising pseudo boehmite. However, there is no description that these compounds are added to a porous ink-receptive layer comprising fumed silica, etc.
Also, in Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 154989/1986, there is disclosed that light resistance can be improved by adding a hydrazide compound to an ink-receptive layer comprising a synthesized silica. However, there is no description that a gas resistance property can be improved.
Moreover, with regard to the semicarbazide derivative and the carbohydrazide derivative disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Provisional Patent Publications No. 314881/1995 and No. 154989/1986, there is no detailed description about the substituents on the nitrogen atom in the molecule. Thus, an effect of the substituents on preservability, etc. has never been expected from the above publications.
On the other hand, some proposals have been made to improve the problem of preservability not only from an aspect of the ink-receptive layer but also an aspect of a composition of ink. However, there is no sufficient composition, which overcomes all of the above-mentioned problems, so that a further improvement has been earnestly desired in this aspect.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet recording material that has photo-like high glossiness, high ink-absorption capacity, high water resistance and improved preservability, and ink for ink-jet recording.
The above objects of the present invention can be accomplished by an ink-jet recording material comprising a support, and an ink-receptive layer provided on the support, wherein said ink-jet recording material contains at least one compound selected from a carbohydrazide compound in which at least one nitrogen atom at 1-position and 5-position is substituted by two substituents other than a hydrogen atom and a compound having a 4-oxy-semicarbazide structure. In particular, it is effective in the case of using a porous ink-receptive layer containing inorganic fine particles. Also, the same effects can be obtained by ink for ink-jet recording according to the present invention which contains at least one of the carbohydrazide compound and the compound having a 4-oxysemicarbazide structure.